 Born in Carey, Idaho, Cenarrusa graduated from the territorial school in Bellevue and attended the University of Idaho in Moscow, where he was a member of the Vandals' boxing team and the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.He graduated with a bachelor's degree in agriculture in 1940 and taught math and science and coached in Carey, Cambridge, and Glenns Ferry.During World War II, Cenarrusa was an aviator in the Marine Corps.